SEC to push futures exchange market

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will push for the opening of a futures exchange market by this year as soon as it wraps up the review of rules and regulations with the Bangko Sentral, SEC Chairman Lilia Bautista told reporters.

Bautista said the agency has hired consultants in crafting new rules which it would take up with the BSP that would address, among others, issues of the protection of investors in the new exchange.

"We want to avoid what happened in the past," Bautista stressed in 1995 the SEC ordered the closure of the Manila International Futures Exchange (MIFE) following widespread complaints of investors of irregularities and anomalous trading practices by the commodities brokers, some of whom engaged in fly-by-night operations.

Bautista said the new futures exchange would initially cover trading of financial instruments such as currency exchange, swaps, options, warrants and other derivative products. In the old MIFE, the bulk of trades were in agricultural produce such as coffee, sugar, soybean, copra and dry cocoon although there were also contracts in Treasury Bills and selected forex rates. – Conrado Diaz Jr.